The Way You Love Me. Donna Hill

views of each other at the table. Bailey folded her arms and tried to think of an option.

      “I have an idea.” She didn’t wait for Vincent to respond. She began giving instructions to the staff to take the centerpieces off the tables, load them onto a cart and two of them were to come with her to the basement storage room. She pulled out her cell phone and called Addison.

      “Hey, Addie, listen, we’re in a bind. Remember those goblets that you used for your last catering job?”

      “Yep. What’s up?”

      “I need to use them for tonight. We still have them in our storage room here at the Mercury Lounge.”

      “Sure. Not a problem. You didn’t need to call me for that.”

      “I wanted to make sure it was okay.”

      “Listen, I appreciate you being able to hold on to my stuff for me. With the catering jobs getting bigger and bigger, I’m running out of space in my apartment. Even though it’s been more cost-effective to purchase what I need instead of renting, it’s taking a toll on my square footage.” She laughed.

      “I hear that. Anyway, thanks, girl. Gotta run.”

      “Talk to you later.”

      Once they reached the storage room in the basement, Bailey instructed the staff to box up the vases after removing the calla lilies. She laid the plants out on a long table, found a pair of scissors and started cutting the lilies down to size. Shortly after, the lilies were floating in the goblets and were being placed back on the tables.

      “I don’t know what I’d do without you,” Vincent said, his gray eyes crinkling at the corners with his smile. He gave her quick kiss on the cheek.

      Bailey blinked in surprise. “Drive yourself crazy.” She patted his shoulder. “I have to get downstairs. My shift has already started.”

      “Thanks again,” he called out.

      She waved away his thanks and hurried off, pushing the impromptu cheek kiss to the back of her mind.

      By the time Bailey returned to the ground level, the line for the early diners to be seated had grown. Every stool at the bar was taken, and the two bartenders were working their magic.

      Bailey came around to the entrance of the bar. “Hey, Mellie, hectic already, I see,” she said and took her black apron from the hook and tied it around her waist.

      “Girl, you would think this was the last stop in town,” she joked. She poured a splash of top-shelf rum over ice, dropped in a slice of lime and spun away toward her customer.

      Bailey took a quick inventory of supplies and made sure that the snack bowls on the counter were freshened and full. Then she went to work, mixing and joking with the customers. She loved the teasing games she played with them, especially her regulars. It was all harmless fun, and it made the evenings fly by. And, of course, there were the more serious-minded conversations on politics, religion, cheating spouses and significant others and the customary legal questions. It all came with the territory.

      She’d been going nonstop for about an hour when two seats in her section opened. One was quickly occupied. She took a cloth from beneath the bar counter and walked over to her new customer. She did what she always did: wiped down the counter, placed a bowl of snacks on the bar, shot him with her best smile and took his order.

      “Welcome to the Mercury Lounge. What can I get for you?”

      Carl Hurley scooped up a handful of nuts and tossed them in his mouth. He chewed slowly. “I’m actually waiting on my buddy until our table is ready. But how ’bout a Corona while I wait?”

      “Not a problem.”

      She turned away and went to get the beer and a glass. When she returned, the empty seat was occupied, and the two men were in an animated conversation. She was all ready to get into her routine when he turned and looked at her. Something hit her, like a flash or a shock or something; she couldn’t be sure. And for a moment she didn’t breathe when the light caught in his eyes, and he smiled. Not a full smile but halfway, just the corner of his mouth. She blinked and placed the bottle of beer and glass in front of her customer and forced herself to concentrate.

      “Good evening. And what can I get you?”

      The dark of his eyes moved really slowly over her face, and every inch that was exposed to his perusal heated. The pulse in her throat tripled its beat.

      “Hmm, bourbon. Neat. Four Roses.”

      “Coming right up.” She spun away, and her knees were gelatin-shaky. She drew in a breath and scanned the shelf for the bottles of bourbon, missing them twice before she recognized them for what they were. At least the glasses were right in front of her. She brought the glass and the bottle of Four Roses bourbon and placed the glass in front of him. “Say when.”

      The warm brown liquid slid from the mouth of the bottle into the wide opening of the glass with a bare splash. The heady aroma aroused the senses.

      “When...”

      Bailey took her eyes away from what she was doing, and her gaze bumped right against his. She lightly ran her tongue across her bottom lip as she watched him bring the glass to his nose. Inhaled. Nodded. Took a sip. “Perfect.”

      “Let me know if you gentlemen need anything else.” She managed to tug herself away from his magnetic pull.

      “You okay?” Mellie asked as she dumped glasses in the sudsy water.

      “Yeah, why?”

      “You seem distracted. Not your usual bouncy self.”

      “I’m good. A few things on my mind, that’s all.”

      Mellie studied Bailey for a moment then shrugged. “Cool. I’m going to take my break as soon as things slow down.”

      “Sure.”

      “Wow, that guy down on the end is hot,” she said under her breath.

      “Who?”

      “Your customer. The one with the open-collar white shirt, no tie. Don’t tell me you didn’t notice.”

      Bailey’s heart thumped. “I try not to.”

      “Girl, you must be angling for sainthood. Give me a minute with him.” She slid her eyes in his direction.

      Bailey sputtered a laugh. “You need to stop.”

      “And why would I do that?” she teased, emphasizing every word.

      Bailey shook her head in amusement and went back to work.

      * * *

      Justin Lawson took a sip of his drink. His gaze kept drifting back to the woman who’d served him, subtly following her every move. “How long did they say we’d have to wait for a table?”

      “At least a half hour. Didn’t think we needed a reservation.”

      Justin glanced around. The lounge was pretty full with more patrons waiting to be seated. This was the first time he’d been to the Mercury Lounge. He’d heard good things about it, but he wanted to check it out before he brought Jasmine here.

      “How is that case coming that you were working on?”

      Carl sucked up a laugh. “It’s a mess.” He tossed back the rest of his beer straight from the bottle. “The usual corporate back room dirty deals, everyone trying to outmaneuver the other.” He shook his head.

      Justin, like Carl, was an attorney. Both of them worked for one of the biggest law firms in Louisiana, and they both were working hard on the side to launch Justin’s nonprofit—The Justice Project—something that his father, Senator Branford Lawson, wasn’t pleased about.

      What is it about my sons, Branford had boomed at the last family gathering. I build a legacy for them, pave the way for them and they